Someone to Trust (Life Unexpected Book 2)

by Melanie D. Snitker

  The men stared at each other for several heartbeats until Chess registered that he hadn’t asked Nathan inside yet. He held the door wide open. “Come on in. My family and I are grilling in the backyard. I’ll introduce you.”

  Nathan nodded. He carried the baby in his arms and wore a large backpack. Chess couldn’t see the baby well enough to tell how old she was. Why hadn’t Nathan mentioned her before now? It seemed like a child would be one of the first things you’d share. Chess led the way through the house and into the backyard. The moment Nathan stepped through the sliding glass door, he had everyone’s attention. Anna and Brooke got to their feet and Anna called Epic over to her side and encouraged him to stop barking. Joel laid the spatula he was using on the little table next to the grill, dusted his hands off on his pants, and held one out.

  “Hello there. I’m Joel.”

  Nathan shook his hand. “I’m Nathan Kirkpatrick. It’s nice to meet you.” He held the baby up a little. “This is my daughter, Mia.”

  Chess introduced Brooke and Anna, who greeted Nathan with smiles and handshakes as well.

  Chess motioned to one of the patio chairs. “Feel free to have a seat.”

  “How old is she?” The question came from Brooke.

  Nathan smiled brightly at the question. “She’s five months.” He gazed down lovingly at the blonde-headed baby. “She was a trooper on the flight here. She’ll be waking up soon. Can I fix a bottle for her inside when she does?”

  “Of course.” Chess motioned to the back door. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “I’ll take a Dr Pepper if you have one.”

  “Yep. Be right back.” Chess was going inside when he heard Brooke say something and then hurry in behind him. They walked together to the kitchen.

  “Wow.” Brooke’s eyes were wide. “Did he tell you he had a daughter?”

  “Not a word.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one else had come into the house. “I wonder if he’s married.”

  Brooke retrieved the soda from the fridge before Chess could. “He’s not wearing a wedding ring.”

  That she’d noticed that fact immediately annoyed Chess. In that moment, he registered the possibility that one day, Brooke might fall for someone he knew. He’d have to go on watching her live her life and raise a family. The thought didn’t sit well with him. He looked over to find her staring at him.

  “There’s no doubt you two are related.” She held the bottle in both hands and leaned against the counter. “You guys appear a lot alike. He’s not quite as…” She stopped herself, blushed noticeably, and straightened.

  Nathan wasn’t quite as what? Chess pinned Brooke with a stare he hoped would get her to finish her sentence. But she pressed her lips together and handed him the bottle, their fingers brushing. He reached out and lightly touched her arm. The simple gesture sent a jolt of electricity straight to his heart. Chess did his best to ignore his reaction. Nathan was only one reminder of how he’d failed in keeping family safe before, and why he had to protect Brooke by not letting his emotions take over. He studied her eyes, hoping for some hint about where they stood. “Are we okay?”

  Brooke gave him a little shrug. “Things are different, Chess.”

  “I know.” He’d never wanted this uneasiness between them. He wished he had the time to sit down and talk to her right now. Though he had no idea what he would say.

  “I’d better get back out there.” She gave him a sad little smile and retreated to the backyard.

  The moment she stepped away, the surrounding air cooled and the kitchen felt empty. Chess followed her outside and passed the soda to Nathan.

  “Thanks.” Despite the baby in his arms, he managed to twist the top off and take a swig. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

  Joel returned from flipping the steaks again. “Not at all. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you since Chess told us about your visit.” He pointed at the grill. “We have plenty of food and hope you’ll stay for dinner.”

  “I appreciate that.” Relief marched across Nathan’s features followed by something else Chess didn’t quite catch. The baby stirred and her little eyelids fluttered open. Nathan smiled widely. “Hey, girly. We’re finally here.” He glanced up. “She didn’t sleep a wink on the plane. The moment I got her into the rental car, she crashed.”

  Mia rubbed at her eyes and blinked up at her dad. He shifted her until she was sitting on his lap. Wide, blue eyes took in all the strangers around her.

  Nathan rubbed her messy hair into some semblance of control. Several spots popped back up again. He chuckled. “She’s way more outgoing than I am. But she takes a little while to wake up. I’m going to run in and fix that bottle if it’s okay.”

  “Absolutely.” Chess moved to open the sliding door as Nathan bent over and dug around in his backpack for a bottle and some formula.

  To Chess’s surprise, Brooke stood. “I’d be happy to watch Mia for you if she’d let me.”

  Nathan seemed uncertain and looked down at his young daughter. “Do you want to stay here with Miss…” He looked at Brooke. “I’m sorry. Remind me of your name again, please.”

  “Brooke.”

  “… with Miss Brooke?”

  The baby’s gaze swung to Brooke before she buried her face in her daddy’s shirt.

  Nathan nuzzled his daughter’s head. “Don’t take it personally.”

  Chess almost joked that it reminded him of Brooke. She wasn’t nearly as bad about it now, but years ago, she balked at getting up early. When she lived at the house, she often nursed a cup of tea in the morning for at least twenty minutes before he or Joel even dared to start up a conversation.

  He missed having her around every day.

  Chess shook off the thought. “Here, I’ll show you to the kitchen.”

  ~

  Brooke watched the guys return. As soon as Nathan settled back into the chair, he handed the bottle to Mia who snuggled into her daddy’s arms. She started drinking hungrily, her gaze ever vigilant and curious.

  The baby brought a smile to Brooke’s face. “She’s adorable. I love those long eyelashes.” Everything about the baby was fair compared to Nathan, from the light skin to the blonde hair to the blue eyes. She looked nothing like him except for her nose. That was a miniature version of Nathan’s. And Chess’s, too, for that matter.

  “Thank you.” Nathan kissed the baby’s head. “She’s a sweetheart.” He surveyed the small group. “So how do you all know Chess?”

  Chess exchanged a glance with Brooke and she gave him a little nod of encouragement. “Maybe I should start at the beginning.”

  Nathan listened, his eyes on his daughter. He didn’t say a word as Chess repeated everything he’d told Brooke and the others. About how Nathan had been removed from the foster home despite Chess’s attempts to stop them.

  Nathan frowned. “I was told by my parents — my then foster parents — that they wanted to adopt us both but you said no. And that’s why you stayed behind. As I grew up, they avoided answering any questions I had about you or the time I spent in foster care. I always wondered why.”

  Chess shook his head. “I don’t know why they would tell you that. A caseworker told me the foster family couldn’t keep you because you were too young and you were going to a more appropriate home. I promise, nothing was said to me about adoption.”

  The actions of Nathan’s adoptive parents stunned Brooke. All she could figure was they thought Nathan would best move forward if he left everything about his past behind. Memories of her mama and great aunt, no matter how painful, meant a lot to her. She couldn’t imagine being denied even those.

  “Yeah.” Nathan used one finger to caress the back of his daughter’s hand. “Well, I’m certain growing up with my adoptive parents was better than the foster care system. But they had a lot of their own issues. They got a divorce when I was ten and pretty much live separate lives even now. I bounced back and forth between them until I was eighteen and I
see them once a year at most.” He paused. “With all the lies they told each other, I shouldn’t be surprised they’d lied to me from the very beginning. They probably thought they were protecting me.” He cringed. “I wish I could’ve remembered more for myself.”

  Brooke’s heart ached for Nathan. When she was a kid, she’d imagined all would be solved if someone would choose to adopt her. As if it would be a magical ending to a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. But this was proof not even that guaranteed a lifetime of happiness.

  “It’s understandable. You were so young.” Chess’s voice sounded strained. He recounted his story about how he’d searched for Nathan all through his childhood.

  Brooke still didn’t like that Chess had kept his past, his little brother, a secret for as long as he did. But if she’d spent a big chunk of her life hunting for a long-lost sibling and never knowing what happened to him… Well, it was hard to know what she’d do. She caught Chess’s gaze and gave him what she hoped was a supportive smile.

  One corner of his mouth came up but fell back down again. “You know that day at the food bank when I met you and Joel? That’s when I finally let go of my obsession to find Nathan.”

  Mia finished her bottle. Nathan took it from her, set it on the patio at his feet, and rubbed circles on the baby’s back. He seemed to be deep in thought.

  Anna leaned over to whisper in Joel’s ear. He put an arm around her and drew her closer. “I told you about how Brooke and I met at the same foster home and then left together once we had both aged out of the system.” Anna nodded. “We rented a horrible apartment, but we couldn’t make enough money to keep it. After a while, we were staying on the streets or anywhere we were able. We went to a local food bank once a week for the food that kept us going. That’s where we met Chess.”

  Brooke took over the story from there. “I noticed him a couple weeks in a row.” She blushed, realizing that she’d admitted something she’d never told Chess before. “Then, one week, he overheard us talking. We had gotten eggs and milk from the food bank. But since we were living on the streets, we had no place cool to keep it. We were about to give them away to someone who could use them before they went bad when Chess came up to talk to us. Eventually, he invited us to stay at his apartment for a few days until we could get back on our feet.” She’d never forgotten that day, or what it meant. It was a new beginning and it changed her life. Hers and Joel’s.

  Chess paced to the edge of the concrete patio before coming back and sitting down again. He looked at Nathan. “I went to that place once a week. But it wasn’t because I needed the food. I hoped that, somehow, I’d run into you. I frequented several food banks in town along with the shelters.” He paused and turned his attention to Joel and Brooke. “I heard you two talking and decided I was spending my life in the past. I did my best to move on from there. Part of that, for me, was not talking about it.” His gaze connected with Brooke’s.

  “Chess…” But Brooke couldn’t say more. There were a lot of things that happened between them, but she hoped he knew she wasn’t upset with him for not telling them about Nathan and his past back then. “I get it.” She also understood now why he jumped at the chance to move them all to this house in Quintin a couple of years later. There were too many old memories in Dallas.

  Nathan looked thoughtful. Mia bounced up and down on his lap and he brought the baby to his chest and patted her back. “You’re all lucky you found each other the way you did.” He glanced up at Anna. “How about you?”

  Joel took her hand in his. “She joined the band earlier this year. We were married a few weeks ago.”

  Anna leaned into his shoulder.

  Nathan smiled, but it seemed sad. He kissed his daughter on the top of her head. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Joel stood. “I’d better go check on those steaks. How do you like yours, Nathan?”

  “Medium well, please. If you’re sure it won’t be an imposition.”

  “Not at all.”

  Brooke knew the steaks would be close to done. She exchanged a look with Anna. “Maybe we should go get everything else ready.”

  Anna stood quickly and seemed relieved. “That’s a good idea.”

  They went through the sliding glass door and Brooke turned to close it behind them. Chess watched her through the glass with concern. She wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, but, how could she? She prayed finding Nathan again would help Chess put some of the past behind him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chess watched Brooke and Anna go into the house, Epic on their heels. He wondered what they were talking about. With Joel checking on the steaks, it was just him, Nathan, and Mia sitting under the covered patio.

  He focused on Nathan. “I’m sorry your childhood was rough. It couldn’t have been easy to see your adoptive parents fight like that.”

  Nathan took his daughter’s hands and helped her stand on his lap. She grinned and happily hopped up and down. “Well, I didn’t make it easy on them, either. I guess I was a troublemaker. I got into a lot of fights in school. Sometimes I wonder if I wasn’t a big source of the issues between my parents though they assured me that wasn’t the case.” He took in a deep breath. “I’d be a real mess now if it hadn’t been for one of my teachers. I tried to deck him when I was sixteen.” Nathan’s ears grew red at the memory. “But instead of sending me to the principal where I’d be suspended, he convinced my dad to enroll me in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It was the best thing anyone did for me.” Mia flopped back down on her bottom and waved at her daddy. He smiled and waved back. “Turns out, I had a lot of anger I needed to work out. And doing that in a constructive, safe environment probably kept me out of jail later.”

  Chess nodded. “I’m glad you had that.” Wow, their lives had been completely different. He wondered if Nathan even knew what happened to their biological parents. Chess had worked to put that behind him and thought today may not be the time to bring it up again. “Do you still practice it?”

  “I do. I’m a black belt and an instructor back in Florida.” Nathan seemed proud of his accomplishment.

  Chess knew little about jiu-jitsu but imagined it took a lot of dedication to reach that level. “That’s awesome.” Mia smiled at him. Where was the baby’s mother?

  “Do you want to hold her?” Nathan held Mia out to him. “I’ll bet she’d like to say hi to her uncle.”

  Chess blinked at the baby. He was an uncle. She was his niece. The thought seemed foreign. He took Mia and gingerly set her on his knee. Thank goodness, the girl was old enough so Chess didn’t worry about having to support her head or anything. Even still, she seemed tiny in his hands. She clapped her own together and offered him another smile punctuated by a bit of drool that dribbled off her chin and onto her shirt.

  “Sorry. She’s teething, though I’ve yet to see a tooth break through.” Nathan withdrew a handkerchief from a pocket and leaned over to wipe off his daughter’s chin.

  Chess caught Joel watching them from the grill. He offered a smile of encouragement before rejoining them.

  “Steaks are about ready,” Joel announced.

  Nathan stood. “I should probably change her diaper before dinner. Where’s your restroom?”

  Chess gave him directions and handed the baby back to her daddy. The duo went inside. Joel approached, carrying the platter of steaks. “Are you doing okay?”

  Chess had no idea how to answer that, and Joel seemed to understand. He pointed at the house. “You should invite them to stay in Brooke’s old room while they’re here. It’ll give you two a chance to catch up.”

  “Yeah, that might work.” He looked through the sliding glass door at Brooke and Anna busy in the kitchen. Brooke was laughing at something and her face lit up. It was good to see her smiling like that again. She’d been way too serious the past couple of weeks.

  Once inside, everyone gathered around the table for the meal. After several moments of eating in silenc
e, Nathan nodded toward his plate. “This is fantastic. Thank you for inviting us to join you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Chess had a list of questions he wanted to ask Nathan and had prioritized them. He started with one of the easiest. “So, you live in Miami now?”

  He nodded. “Yes. We have an apartment there.” He shifted Mia from one leg to the other, balancing her as he ate.

  “Are your adoptive parents in the area?”

  Nathan frowned. “No. Once they split, I guess they needed to get as far apart as they could. My father lives in Montana and my mother up near Maine. Even when I see them once a year at Christmas, it’s at different times.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “It is what it is. I appreciate it though.” Nathan looked around the table. “You have a great family here.”

  Chess’s gaze collided with Brooke’s. Her cheeks colored slightly, and she dipped her chin, focusing on her plate. “Yeah, I do. We’re lucky we found each other.” He watched as Brooke peeked at him again. Sure, both she and Joel were family. They were everything to him. But it was then that Chess realized Brooke meant home. He shook the thoughts from his head and brought his focus back to Nathan.

  His brother must have thought the silence was because of him. He finished his bite of food and set his fork down. “I know you’re probably wondering about Mia’s mother.” He paused. “Gwen isn’t in the picture.” Nathan cleared his throat. “Our relationship was less than stable when we found out Mia was on the way. Shortly after Mia was born, Gwen said she hadn’t signed on to be a mother. She gave away all rights and disappeared.”

  Nathan grimaced. Chess felt sorry for him and the baby. He remembered what it was like to watch their mother check out of reality in her own way and how hard it’d been. Maybe it was a good thing that Mia didn’t have to witness that herself though she would surely grow up wondering why her mother had left. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Nathan kissed the top of his daughter’s head. “Gwen and I made a lot of mistakes, but I’ll never see Mia as one of them. We’re happy. Aren’t we, girlie?” He blew raspberries against the baby’s arm and she rewarded him with a belly laugh.